by Nic Tatano
"Aw, c'mon, Aspen. A little longer."
"Can't you see he's done? Finish him!"
"Fine." He looks at Ryan, who is fading and has no fight left in him. His legs have stopped moving and are hanging straight down. "Goodnight, sweet prince."
Oh my God, he's going to kill Ryan! "Nooooo!"
Trip's huge biceps flex and the veins on his arms bulge out as he tightens his clench and leans back, raising Ryan higher in the air. Ryan lets out a moan of pure agony as his eyes bug out, his look one I've never seen.
Absolute fear.
He locks eyes with me as Trip crushes the life out of him.
He knows he's going to die.
My emotions explode. "Stop it!"
Trip closes his eyes and lets out a primitive grunt as his arm and shoulder muscles quickly contract giving Ryan a violent squeeze. Ryan's head jerks back as his face contorts into a silent scream. His legs go straight out and twitch as Trip puts everything he's got into the bear hug. Then Ryan's head falls forward, eyes closed, as his whole body goes limp.
"Oh my God! Ryan!" My knees buckle as my emotions go out of control.
I know the love of my life is dead.
Chapter 19
"You killed him," I say, through uncontrollable sobs. "You bastard."
Trip flashes an evil smile at Aspen, then nods. "Tell her."
"Oh, stop it, Jillian," says Aspen. "He just passed out. You're such a drama queen."
Trip straightens up, relaxes his grip and studies Ryan's face. "Yeah, lover boy is still breathing."
Hope shoots through my veins like adrenaline.
He's alive!
A ray of light.
I try to wrestle my body away again from Aspen but my emotions have drained me and she's still maintaining a strong grip.
Focus, Jillian.
He's alive! You can heal him.
But you have to get to him first.
"Dammit, let me go to him! He's hurt!"
"Not yet," says Aspen. "Trip hasn't finished exercising. He's just warming up."
"I dunno, Aspen, he's not much of a workout," says Trip, now casually holding Ryan up with only one arm. "Too small. Too weak." He lets Ryan's body slide down, lowering his feet to the floor for a moment, then bends over, puts his back against Ryan's waist and effortlessly hoists my boyfriend over his shoulder. Ryan is like a rag doll bent in half over one shoulder, arms hanging limp to the floor. Trip has one arm wrapped tightly around his legs while he flexes his free arm in some sort of victory pose. "I'll finish him off later."
"Please don't hurt him anymore! Please!"
"Like I said, I'm teaching him a lesson. He needs to stay away from you. You're mine now."
I glare at him. "I'll never be yours."
"Well, then," says Aspen, "I guess you can watch Trip crush what's left of your boyfriend when he wakes up. You only saw a little taste of what he's capable of. Face it, Jillian, this is no contest. I mean, look at this."
Trip is showing off, now sipping a soda as he parades around the room with Ryan draped over his shoulder like he weighs nothing. "The bigger and stronger survive, Jillian. It's the law of nature. Soon as he wakes up, round two."
"And you're gonna watch him snap Ryan like a twig," says Aspen. "Unless…"
I have to get to Ryan.
"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you want, just let him go and don't hurt him. Put him down, Trip, you've made your point. I get it. You're a lot stronger than Ryan. I give up. I'm yours. Now please put him down. I'll do anything you want if you don't hurt him anymore."
"Smart decision," says Aspen. "You just saved his life."
Trip moves toward a couch and dumps Ryan on it. He's still unconscious.
Aspen finally lets me go and I run to Ryan. Tears are streaming down my face as I take his head in my hands. Thankfully he's still breathing, but barely. "Hang in there, Ryan. I love you." My voice cracks as I take Ryan's hand and send some healing power into him.
"Payback is hell, huh?" says Aspen.
I turn to face her. "Payback? For what? I thought we were friends."
"Friends? Pffft. Jillian, you are soooo naive."
"Answer the question, Aspen. Payback for what? What did I ever do to you?"
"It's what you did to my parents, Jillian. Last spring you turned my dad into a vegetable and now you took my mother's powers. Which cost mom her life."
My eyes widen while my jaw drops.
She locks eyes with me with a look that is pure evil, and smiles. "Look, Trip, she just figured it out. I knew the girl was smart. Yeah, sweetie, Rebecca Cruise was my mother and J.T. Decker's my dad. So how ya doin'…sister?"
I gently stroke Ryan's hair as I continue healing him. Trip has left me alone with him while he and Aspen are talking in another room. Ryan's breathing is still labored, but getting stronger. He's unconscious. I lift up his shirt and see his chest is seriously bruised, the sight of which makes me tear up again.
I'm too upset and having trouble concentrating. Focus, Jillian.
I wipe my tears with my free hand and send as much life force as I can into his body. It may knock me out, but I have to save him. Then we can live to fight another day.
I feel a bit weaker but remain conscious as my energy flows into him. Ryan's breathing gradually improves and his eyes flicker open. "What happened?" he whispers.
"Shhhh. Don't talk. Let me concentrate."
He tries to sit up but grimaces in pain and grabs his side. "Ow. I think he broke a couple of my ribs."
"Shhh. They're in the other room." I close my eyes, focus harder, see his bruised body healing itself. A few minutes later I open my eyes to find his are open and he's smiling. "That's good, Sparks. I'm fine now. What the hell happened?"
I lift up his shirt and see the bruises have disappeared. I tell him the quick version, his eyes bugging out when he finds out Aspen is my half sister.
"So what do they want?" he whispers.
"Trip wants me. If I don't agree to leave you for him he'll…" I bite my lower lip as the tears flow again. "I'm sorry, Ryan, I have no choice. You'll have to let me go."
"Not gonna happen, Sparks."
"Ryan, he's too strong! He almost killed you. I won't let him hurt you again and next time he will kill you. You have to stay away from me. For now anyway, until we figure out how to defeat him."
"You said they're in the other room?"
"Yeah. They figured we weren't going anywhere with you hurting so badly."
"You got any juice left?"
"Yeah, plenty. You still hurt?'
"No, I'm fine. I need a boost to read their minds. Give me a jump."
Five minutes later he opens his eyes. I let go of his hand.
"Okay, I got both of them."
"And?"
"I know his weakness. We can beat him, but we can only do it together."
"Okay, how?"
He tells me he needs an ID card before going back into Trip's mind and that I need to get help.
I furrow my brow. "An ID card? How exactly will this work?"
We hear Trip and Aspen coming. "No time to explain. Now go get Rox and Jake. Oh, and bring two sets of earplugs."
"Huh?"
"Aspen is a siren, like her mother. Jake and I will need protection from her."
"Does she also have the abilities of a dream weaver like her mother?"
He shakes his head. "Cruise wasn't the dream weaver. She was just a siren."
"She wasn't the dream weaver?"
"Nope. You're not gonna believe this."
"What?"
"Trip is the dream weaver."
Ryan plays dead as Trip and Aspen walk back into the room.
"See, he's still breathing," says Aspen.
I glare at her. "Get on with it, Aspen. I'm willing to make a deal on three conditions. You promise not to hurt him anymore. You let me go get some help for Ryan. He's seriously hurt and needs medical attention. And you answer a few questions. After that, I'm yours."
<
br /> "I could carry him down to the hospital," says Trip, smiling.
"No, they'll ask too many questions about what happened to him," says Aspen. "You don't need to be involved. Anyway, Jillian, I agree to your conditions. Ryan won't be touched as long as you keep your part of the bargain and give yourself to Trip. And I don't have a problem with you going anywhere because you have to come back."
"But no tricks or Ryan faces the consequences," says Trip.
"As I said before, you made your point. I know what you're capable of."
He glares at me. "Actually, you have no idea."
"Okay, Trip, I think she got the message," says Aspen. She turns back to me. "As for questions…"
"What the hell, Aspen, it's not like it's gonna help her," says Trip. "Fire away."
"Fine," she says.
"First of all, I thought you guys were my friends."
"You are so easily played and incredibly naive," says Aspen. "You're brilliant, but innocent."
"I won't argue with you there. But, Trip, why do you want me if you have Aspen?"
"It's our destiny for you and me to be together. Among other things. And I really do find you incredibly attractive. I know you feel the same way, so don't deny it. I see the way you look at me."
"But don't you love Aspen?"
Aspen chuckles a bit. "Jillian, Trip and I are just part of the team. You needed to believe we were in love. You have to admit it made you jealous, which was our intent. When I was talking about women staring at him at the Halloween party, I was talking about you. Your crush on Trip was beyond obvious. But our relationship was an act."
"But I saw you two in the reading. In my crystal ball."
Aspen smiles. "You saw what the dream weaver wanted you to see. You never actually did a reading for me."
Trip cocks his head at Aspen. "Her mother wanted her to mate with someone who had superior powers. That would be me."
I do my best to tighten my face. "You have powers?"
He nods. "Hi, Trip Logan. Dream weaver."
I feign shock so well they both smile. They buy it. I turn to Aspen. "Your mother wasn't—"
"Nope, she wasn't a dream weaver. Just a plain old siren, but a very powerful one at that. Or she was until you stole her powers that led to her death. You murdered my mother, Jillian." Aspen's voice quivers.
"She was killed in an accident."
"As a result of your actions."
"She murdered a muse, did you know that? Or does killing a beautiful person not constitute a crime in your mind?"
Aspen shrugs. "Ancient history, and muses are of no consequence. But back to the present. She figured that since I carried the genes from our father as well as her own that producing a child with a dream weaver would create someone with incredible powers. Powers that would dominate anything else, powers never before seen. Perhaps even a new power. And it doesn't hurt that Trip's a perfect physical specimen, to which you can personally attest."
My face tightens. "So you two are…some sort of Adam and Eve lab experiment to create a super race? Ewwww."
"Jillian, don't take the romance out of it," says Aspen. "It's not like we haven't been enjoying trying. I mean, look at him. Imagine what it's like getting physical with Trip." She playfully slaps her face. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You've done that already and I'm told you enjoyed it a great deal."
I turn to Trip. "So it was you who manipulated my dreams."
He nods. "Guilty as charged. I needed to lay the groundwork to make you infatuated. I even made you step into traffic so I could rescue you. I needed to start a relationship with you to make the dream become reality…that you desperately want me and we're meant to be together."
"You expect me to feel that way after what you just did to Ryan?"
He flashes a smile. "Jillian, I'll be taking charge of both your dreams and your waking life. You won't even remember Ryan ever existed, like you didn't remember him when we first kissed. You'll spend a happy life with me, living in that home I created in your dream. Remember how much you enjoyed that last one? This time, no alarm clocks to interrupt us. You'll think you're living a perfectly normal life, only I'll be controlling it. I've give you everything you want, Jillian. When you're awake and when you're sleeping. And I think you'll agree we do have incredibly physical chemistry."
"Don't flatter yourself."
"Trust me, Jillian, you'll enjoy it," says Aspen. "He's quite skillful in the bedroom."
My face tightens again, the thought of being physical with Trip now sickening me. "So, you just want to keep me in some dream state box for the rest of my life? Living in a fake reality like a Stepford wife?"
Aspen shakes her head. "Again, too innocent."
"I don't understand."
"You're a powerful seer and carry your father's genes as well," she says. "Jillian, you're lab experiment number two."
They think I'm going out to get help for Ryan.
I'm going to get help, but of a different kind. And when I return, it will be my double.
Aspen heads for the door. "I'll be back later, Trip. And if she doesn't come back, you can do whatever you want to her boyfriend. Have fun."
"I'll be back," I say, getting up from the couch. "Don't you dare touch him."
"By the way," says Trip, "just so you don't think I'm totally heartless, I'll be happy to wipe any memories of you from his mind as well. So you won't have to think about him missing you."
"I'll be happy to take care of his needs," says Aspen. "I wasn't kidding when I called him hot. So don't worry your pretty little head that he'll be lonely. Trip will make sure he's infatuated with me."
My eyes narrow as my jaw clenches. I want to slap the bitch, but need to focus on the task.
"You guys ready?" I ask, as I stop in front of Aspen's door.
Jake and Roxanne nod. "Let's rock," says Rox, as she cracks her knuckles.
I knock on the door and Trip quickly answers. "Well, if it isn't Jillian and her merry band. What are they doing here?"
"I said I was going to get help for Ryan, or did you already forget? He's in no condition to get home by himself, thanks to you."
"You didn't say you were bringing people with powers."
"They're my closest friends. And you didn't specify who I could bring."
He nods. "Fine. But no tricks or he'll be the one to pay." He cracks his knuckles for effect. "And I won't go easy on him this time."
"I'm honoring my part of the deal. They won't do anything but take him to the hospital. I don't want him hurt anymore."
Aspen thankfully hasn't returned. We move past Trip to the couch where Ryan is grimacing, pretending to be in pain. "Hey, Sparks."
"I told him about our agreement," says Trip. "So say your goodbyes and get him out of here. Make it quick."
I sit on the edge of the couch and hug Ryan as tears roll down my cheeks. It feels so real I don't have to pretend. "I love you, babe." I lean forward and hug him.
"Ow, not too hard," he says. "I'm real sore."
I lean back and smooth his hair out of his face, then lock eyes with him. "I'll always love you, Ryan."
"Same here, Sparks. I'll never forget you." He kisses me like never before, like it really is a last kiss, sending a bolt of electricity through my body and distracting me from the task at hand.
"Wrap it up before I go into a diabetic coma," says Trip.
"God, you're an ass," says Roxanne.
"Watch your mouth, muse. A siren will be back here any minute and she eats your kind for lunch."
Roxanne backs off, though I can tell from her clenched fists she'd like to wind up and kick the guy in the balls. Jake glares at Trip but knows better than to take on a guy twice his size. She and Jake move toward Ryan, get on both sides of him and help him up as he stretches his arms over their shoulders.
Then Jake points a finger across the room. He makes a glass vase fall off a shelf and crash.
The sound makes Trip whip his head around. "What the hell?"
"Hey, Trip," he says.
My eyes widen. What the hell are you doing? Start going into his mind!
Trip turns around just as Ryan's hand balls into a fist and flies toward him in a blur, lightning fast, so fast I can't believe it, catching him square on the jaw. Trip's eyes roll back in his head, then he falls back like a tree and hits the floor with a thud. He's out cold.
"Nobody messes with my girl," says Ryan, shaking his hand.
My jaw drops. "Ryan, how the hell—"
"Later, Sparks. We gotta move. Gimme the card."
I hand him the card as he crouches down next to Trip, who has a huge red welt on his chin and a couple of teeth next to him on the floor. Blood is oozing out of his mouth and a pool is forming from the back of his head. Ryan places his thumb on the ID card, then takes Trip's hand and turns to me.
"Now, Sparks. Gimme all you got. Crank it, babe."
I kneel down, put my hands on his shoulders and focus, sending energy into his body.
Ryan closes his eyes.
Trip's instantly open wide.
Filled with fear.
"He's awake!" I say.
"Focus, Sparks!"
I expect Trip to get up and fight, but instead his body begins to twitch. Ryan maintains his grip on one hand while still holding the ID card. Trip's free hand goes to his head as he screams in mortal agony, a sound I've heard before.
When we fried my father's brain.
Trip's eyes bug out as his body goes into violent convulsions. I continue to send energy into Ryan as he hangs on to Trip's hand.
And then it's over.
Trip's body seems to melt into the floor as he exhales. His breathing stops, his eyes open, staring into space.
"Oh my God! Is he…"
Ryan nods as he lets go of Trip's hand and stands up.
"You killed him?" I ask, looking up at him.
He's still looking at Trip. "Nope. Your father did."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain later." He gets up and looks down at Trip with disdain. "One down, one to go." He extends a hand and helps me up, giving me a deadly serious look I've never seen. Like a soulless gunslinger in an old western. He gently runs his hand over the side of my face. "Like I said, nobody messes with my girl."
